Chapter 60

Good morning.

Today's weather is also rainy.

When I woke up, I was startled by a slime sitting on my forehead, but then I remembered that it had become a pet yesterday when Sora started playing with it.

The slime's name is Hak.

I was torn between naming it Shiro, but the slime reacted more to Hak!

After getting dressed, I headed to the dining hall, where the students seemed more gloomy than usual, probably due to the rain.

After breakfast, we got on a carriage and headed to the grasslands.

It's the third day, so we're getting used to the grasslands.

Hak, formerly known as the slime, is in Yugram's chest pocket, eagerly extending and retracting its tentacles.

Yugram, with a blank expression, is petting it.

Slimes keep appearing, but Hak takes them down with one hit, so I focus on insect-type monsters, while Arshain and the others focus on beast-type monsters.

Diegry doesn't get much action, but he says there's no complaint because selling slime materials, including the liquid inside, fetches a higher price.

He really has the merchant's son vibe.

We focus on hunting insect-type monsters, especially those in the denser mist, and by lunchtime, we've gathered quite a number.

According to the teacher on the way here, there are more monsters this year compared to last year, and there are more injured students, even if not seriously.

It's apparently abnormal to have so many slimes in this grassland.

The teacher emphasized that fleeing without overexerting ourselves is also a strategy.

So far, our group has made it through unscathed, but there's a possibility that monsters that shouldn't be here, like the rock lizard, might appear.

The visibility is poor, so we need to stay alert!

Just as I tightened my resolve, I spotted a black mist at the edge of my vision! It's darker than any mist I've seen before, so I alerted everyone.

The sound of something approaching is slow but heavy.

The monster is still hidden by the grass.

If we stay like this, we won't be able to confirm the monster's appearance until it's right in front of us, so we decide to rise into the air to check the surroundings.

The grass hides the monster, but we can't see any other groups around us.

"Yugram, barrier! (Yugram, barrier!)"

Hearing my voice, Yugram immediately cast a barrier around everyone, and I cast a fire spell towards the monster.

I burned a 5-meter radius around the monster with high-temperature flames and immediately extinguished it.

Arshain and the others, who were about a meter outside the burned area, were unharmed thanks to the barrier and quickly moved to a position where they could see the monster.

I joined Arshain and the others to face the monster.

"What, why is there a mimic in this grassland?!"

Diegry shouted, but mimics are supposed to be in dungeons or caves, right? How did it get here without legs?

Upon closer inspection, it has cat-foot-like legs attached to a Western-style bathtub, and it seems to have been dragging itself along.

The overly decorated treasure chest monster, upon noticing us, pretended to be a treasure chest in silence.

"...No, it's too late! I could hear you approaching! It's too late to pretend to be a treasure chest now!"

"......Guhuhuhu"

Diegry's retort made the mimic emit a threatening sound.

Arshain and Yugram gave it a strange look.

Despite its silly appearance, the fact that it's unharmed by high-temperature flames suggests it might be quite strong.

"Mimic, how do we fight it? (Mimic, how do we fight it?)"

"Well, usually, since they're only found in dungeons, we use magic to keep them at bay while attacking with swords, and destroying the core inside the treasure chest will defeat it."

"First, it's common to break the hinges with a spear or something."

Yugram answered my question politely, and Diegry added some details, giving us a general idea of how to fight the mimic.

The mimic has been provocatively opening and closing its mouth, which seems to be a taunt.

Since mimics usually don't move and wait for prey, speed might not be a big concern.

The treasure inside the mouth is mostly an illusion, so it's better not to hesitate when attacking.

The black mist is very dense, so the mimic might be quite strong, but it's only taunting and not moving or casting spells, so we took our time discussing how to defeat it.

Just as we were discussing, Hak, who had been surprisingly aggressive, flew out of Yugram's pocket, headed straight for the mimic, and entered its open mouth!

The sudden and swift action left us all stunned, and before we could react, Hak was swallowed by the mimic.

"Hakkyu!!"

Startled, I tried to rush towards the mimic without casting a barrier, but Arshain caught me.

Holding me back, he said,

"Calm down! Look closely!"

I looked at the mimic, which had stopped moving and wasn't opening or closing its mouth.

As I watched, the black mist around the mimic began to dissipate.

A few seconds later, Hak emerged from the mimic's mouth as if nothing had happened, bouncing and rubbing against my chest, as if saying, "Praise me!"

I felt my energy drain, leaning on Arshain, who firmly picked me up and started petting Hak, who was trembling with joy.

Ignoring our antics, Diegry approached the mimic and shouted,

"Awesome! Super rare drop!"

He was holding two dirty leather pouches.

Arshain and Yugram, curious, approached and Diegry exclaimed,

"This is amazing! Magic bags!"

"Really? That's a very valuable find! They're rare even in dungeons!"

Yugram also cheered.

The two were overjoyed, but I looked at Arshain, who smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Since we have two, we can each take one."

"But... but, Hak defeated the mimic, so it's not right for me to take one..."

Diegry's face showed how much he wanted one, but he was hesitating, which was amusing.

"We already have them, so we don't need them. You two should use them."

"Really? Is it okay? Even with Kaito and Hak? They could fetch a lot of money if sold?"

"Sure."

I conveyed my willingness to let them have it, and Hak just trembled.

"Diegry, let's gratefully accept them. We can pay it back with our future work!"

"......I don't know how much work it will take, but I'll gratefully accept them! Thank you, Kaito, Hak, and Prince Arshain!"

"Thank you."

They thanked us.

I just burned the grass, but I let them show me the magic bags. They could hold all the large items they were carrying, plus a couple of bear monsters, about the size of a three-tatami mat. Diegry's was a waist pouch that could be attached to a belt, and Yugram's was a long, box-like pouch that could be worn diagonally.

They were dirty, so they planned to wash them before using them.

The capacity was small and they were dirty, but they were very happy, so it was fine.

The overly decorated mimic's corpse was left for appraisal since no one wanted it.

We took a lunch break where we had burned the grass and then headed to the base.

In the afternoon, we continued hunting monsters smoothly and were almost at the base when we heard multiple voices from the direction of the base.

Shouts, panicked voices, cries for help, battle cries, and the sound of swords clashing.

We approached the base cautiously and quickly.

When we arrived, the base was being overrun by a large pack of wolf monsters.

Those who couldn't fight were in a tent, likely for medical aid, with multiple students casting barriers to keep the wolf monsters at bay.

In the middle, a teacher was treating the injured, and many adventurers were fighting the wolf monsters.

"Yugram, eliminate the monsters from a distance. Diegry, provide cover while evacuating the young ladies. Kaito, secure and assist the medical tent!"

Following Arshain's instructions, we quickly dispersed to our tasks.

I centered the medical tent and cast a large, semi-transparent barrier that was visible, filling it with holy magic.

This would heal minor injuries automatically and help calm the panicked minds.

The students who had been casting individual barriers started to remove them.

With the help of the holy magic, some students regained their composure and joined the fight.

The young ladies, under the teacher's guidance, started triaging the injured.

I headed to the severely injured students.

The two teachers I hadn't seen before didn't stop me, likely having communicated with each other, and made space for me.

The injuries from the wolf monsters were severe, so I had the two teachers and a few nearby young ladies help me remove the injured students' clothes, and I used my palms to spray a disinfectant mist over their wounds.

I wished for the poison to disappear, so the antidote should have taken effect! I asked the young ladies who could use water magic to wash the wounds, and I continued treating the injuries.

I started with the deep and dangerous wounds.

In such situations, I really appreciate the convenience of magic.

As long as I know the basic structure of the body and the approximate positions of the organs, I can heal them by focusing and casting a healing spell.

The two new teachers were speechless at my speed, but I continued treating the next patient.

It didn't take long to finish treating the severely injured.

When I said I wanted a short break, they smiled and even provided a chair.

My barrier has a built-in counterattack effect, so any attacks from outside the barrier are reflected back with the same strength, causing the monsters outside to take damage even without our intervention.

Looking around, Arshain was single-handedly taking down the wolf monsters, Diegry was protecting multiple young ladies and heading towards the barrier, and Yugram had cast a barrier at a distance and was using a weapon that looked like an iron pipe to cast spells and take down the wolf monsters approaching from afar.

About an hour later, the wolf monsters were defeated.

Many male students and adventurers cheered, and the young ladies, relieved, sat down.

After treating the lightly injured and collecting the wolf monsters' corpses, we started the appraisal.

Due to the sudden attack, the number of wolf monsters defeated would be roughly estimated and reflected in the points for each group based on the teachers' and adventurers' observations.

I joined Arshain and the others in the appraisal line.

Students who had finished their appraisals quickly boarded the carriages, and as soon as they were full, they departed.

The number of people gradually decreased, and it was our turn.

We presented the monsters one by one, and when we showed the mimic, everyone was surprised.

We explained the situation to the teacher, completed the appraisal, and boarded the carriage back to the academy.

Everyone on the carriage was exhausted and quiet.

Upon arriving at the academy, we prepared and headed to the dining hall.

Since we were tired, we went to bed early after finishing our meal.